25 Rare Vintage Portraits of Peruvians From the 19th Century

Immigration to Peru involves the movement of immigrants to Peru from another country. Peru is a multiethnic nation formed by the combination of different groups over five centuries.

Amerindians inhabited Peruvian territory for several millennia before Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers under the Viceroyalty. Many people from European backgrounds mixed with the Amerindians or Asians creating an entirely new demographic group called “mestizos.”

Various European ethnic groups settled in Peru following their 1824 independence from Spain, and the majority settled in the coasts and urban areas like Lima. After the abolition of slavery in 1854, immigrants from countries such as China, Northern Europe, and Japan arrived to do labor work in areas such as farming.

Here’s a collection of 25 rare portraits of Peruvians from the 19th century:

(Images via The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography)